The League of the Ten Jurisdictions was the last of the

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grison ...

founded during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

in what is now Canton Graubünden of Switzerland. The League was created in the County of Toggenburg after the counts of

Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary, the Necker. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') of the canton of St. Gallen ( ...

died out. The League initially existed to resist the power of the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

, and quickly allied with the

Grey League The Grey League (german: Grauer Bund, it, Lega Grigia, rm, Ligia Grischa or ), sometimes called ''Oberbund'', formed in 1395 in the ''Vorderrhein'' and '' Hinterrhein'' valleys, Raetia. The name Grey League is derived from the homespun grey cl ...

and the

League of God's House The League of God's House (German: ''Gotteshausbund'', Italian: ''Lega Caddea'', rm, ) was formed in what is now Switzerland on 29 January 1367, to resist the rising power of the Bishopric of Chur and the House of Habsburg. The League allied wi ...

. In 1524 the three leagues joined to become the Free State of the Three Leagues, which existed until the

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

dissolution of the Free State.

History

The League of the Ten Jurisdictions was the last of the three leagues to be founded. On April 30, 1436, the last Count of Toggenburg, Friedrich VII, died without any male heirs and without a will. The Toggenburg lands included the valley of

Prättigau The Prättigau, in the canton of Graubünden (Grisons), Switzerland, is the geographical region consisting of the main valley of the river Landquart and the valleys of its side-rivers and creeks. Landquart River, which drains into the Alpine Rhi ...

, the upper Albula valley (

Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...

Churwalden Churwalden is a municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It incorporates the former municipalities of Malix and Parpan. History Churwalden is first mentioned in 1149 as ''silva Augeria''. In 1191 it was ...

, Schanfigg and

Maienfeld Maienfeld ( rm, Maiavilla) is a municipality in the Landquart Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It is a tourist destination in the Alps, both because of the local wine and because it was the setting of the story ''Heidi''. History ...

. For the Toggenburg properties, the future was very uncertain. The communities would either be split among other nobles, or the entire County of Toggenburg would be inherited by the

. The leaders of the communities chose a third path, they reached an agreement with Friedrich's widow,

Elisabeth von Matsch Elisabeth von Matsch (also ''von Mätsch'', ''Mazzo'', ''von Toggenburg'', date of birth unknown; † after 20 June 1442, assumably on 24 November 1446, probably in the Rüti Abbey) was the last countess of the Swiss noble House of Toggenburg from ...

. In Davos on June 8, 1436, the former Toggenburg lands formed a pact with the support of Elisabeth. Leaders of the communities of

Klosters Klosters is a Swiss village in the Prättigau, politically part of the municipality of Klosters-Serneus, which belongs to the political district Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden. In 2021, the municipality shortened its name to Kl ...

, Davos, Castels,

Schiers Schiers is a Swiss village in the Prättigau and a municipality in the political district Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden. The first concrete girder bridge ever built, Salginatobel Bridge, is located in Schiers. Designed by R ...

, St. Peter (part of Schanfigg),

Langwies Langwies is a former municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Langwies, Calfreisen, Castiel, Lüen, Molinis, Peist Peist is a former municipality in t ...

and Malans (which was under the jurisdiction of Neu-Aspermont) met and agreed to protect their rights, to only collectively enter other pacts and treaties, to appoint judges from each community and to re-swear the pact every twelve years. It is significant that there were no nobles involved in creating the pact, instead it was the common people from the communities that swore the pact. The first leader of the League was Ulrich Beeli from Davos, and all future ''Bundstage'' (Council Meetings) occurred in Davos. The League quickly tied itself to the other surrounding leagues. Within one year (1437) eight of the members of the League had already allied with the League of God's House. The entire League allied with the League of God's House by 1450. In 1471 the League allied with the Grey League, forming the Three Leagues. Soon after the death of the Toggenburgs, the League was not able to prevent the Court and Judgement rights from being split up and given to local nobles. Although the members of the League had control over the local administration and local politics, they did not have control over

High Justice High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents. Low just ...

and taxes or levies. Most of the League was given to the Graf von Montfort, the lower Prättigau went to the Graf von Matsch and Maienfeld and Malans went to the Baron von Brandis. Both Graf von Montfort and Graf von Matsch sold their rights to the

Duke of Austria This is a list of people who have ruled either the Margraviate of Austria, the Duchy of Austria or the Archduchy of Austria. From 976 until 1246, the margraviate and its successor, the duchy, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, t ...

, Montfort in 1470 and Matsch in 1477 The duke combined the two territories (the eight jurisdictions) into a single

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

ei which was administered by an appointed ''Landvogt'', who was generally a member of the League of the Ten Jurisdictions. The ''Landvogt'' lived at Castels Castle near

Luzein Luzein is a Swiss village in the Prättigau and a municipality in the political district Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden. History Luzein is first mentioned in 1185 as ''Luzene''. Neighboring municipalities Geography Lu ...

. The League of the Ten Jurisdictions was very active in the Three Leagues after 1471. After 1486 troops from the League participated in military action with the rest of the Three Leagues. In 1524, the League of the Ten Jurisdiction signed the ''Bundesbrief'', which created the Three Leagues. However some of the rights within the Ten Jurisdictions were still held by other noble families. For example, the Baron von Brandis held Maienfeld, which was a member of the League. In 1509 the Baron von Brandis separated the community of Maienfeld from his holdings, and transferred it to the emergent Three Leagues. Maienfeld became a Vogtei of the Leagues. This meant that Maienfeld was both a voting member of the League of the Ten Jurisdictions and under the control of the Three Leagues at the same time. Maienfeld indirectly administered itself as a controlled territory of the Three Leagues. The rights to High Justice were held by the Dukes of Austria, until the League bought these rights from the duke in 1649–1652. It is only after this date that the League could fully participate in the Three Leagues.

Three Leagues

After about 1471 the three separate Leagues were allied together as the Three Leagues. The ''Bundesbrief'' of September 23, 1524 created a constitution for the Three Leagues that would remain until the

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

ic dissolution of the League. However the League was not a unified state in the modern sense. The Three Leagues worked together as a federation of three states and virtually all affairs of the League were settled by

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. The Three Leagues were also unique in early modern Europe in that it was the only territory were all decisions were made by

communalism Communalism may refer to: * Communalism (Bookchin), a theory of government in which autonomous communities form confederations * , a historical method that follows the development of communities * Communalism (South Asia), violence across ethnic ...

, with the Leagues founded, governed and defended by cooperative decisions. The Three Leagues were normally allied with the Old Swiss Confederacy. Initially this was a response to the expansion of the Habsburgs. The Musso war against the Duchy of Milan in 1520 pushed the League closer to the Swiss Confederacy. The League would remain an associate to the Swiss until the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, when it was absorbed into the Helvetic Republic. After the Napoleonic

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasi ...

, the Three Leagues became the canton of Graubünden.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:League Of The Ten Jurisdictions States and territories established in 1436 Grisons Associates of the Old Swiss Confederacy 15th-century establishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy 1430s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1436 establishments in Europe 18th-century disestablishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy 1798 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire Former countries in Europe Former republics History of Graubünden Former countries Former confederations

History

Three Leagues

See also

References

External links